The Ritual
by LadyOfFlies
Summary: After the gruesome murder of Sadik Adnan, the police is called to Arthur's school to investigate. What they don't know: This is not the usual case of crime and punishment you come across. Arthur thinks he knows the truth, but he can only see so much. The reality is a little different.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rain

" Early today the sky will be cloudy with light showers in the North-east. Later in the evening there will be possible thunders because of the heat and humidity in the past few days. In the Southern areas the temperature will be cooler with approximately 22°C and a clear and sunny sky. The air in the bigger cities will be dry. In the whole Southern half of the country there will be thundery showers that continue throughout the next three days, when the temperature will drop again."

Arthur turned off the TV. He had heard everything he wanted to know. For the next few days he would walk with an umbrella to school. But this didn't annoy him too much. He liked rain and storms. He had always thought that it was mysterious in a way he couldn't explain. Maybe it was the atmosphere or how the people behaved when everything was dark and gloomy. He liked it. He also liked the freshness that lingered in the air after a heavy rainfall. But there was something far more important. He wouldn't have to endure P.E. outdoor activities. Which always happened to be football or other team sports. Arthur's umbrella was a simple black and a little more than two years old. He felt like he could become invisible between all the other people with their colourful umbrellas that more often than not had silly designs of cartoons and animals. Everything to make the mood more lively.

Arthur's worn-out shoes had more than two holes in them. After he had walked through his mother's little garden ( her pride and joy) towards the wooden fence that had been painted white four years ago, his socks were already soaking wet. With every step they made weird noises. The ground was muddy and little pieces of grass stuck to his shoes. When he had finally reached the pavement, his previously white shoes were brown.

" Bloody hell." He murmured. Grey clouds made everything look rather dark, even at seven thirty in the morning. It was raining. Arthur opened his umbrella which wasn't so easy anymore after two years of constant use.

He walked along the pavement and listened to the raindrops that fell on his umbrella and made a relaxing sound.

The way to school wasn't too far. Arthur crossed a street and passed by a tiny flower shop. He knew the owner of the shop. A tiny 50 year old woman with bright red hair who was friends with Arthur's mother. The shop was closed today. He didn't want to set foot in there ever again after a disastrous birthday a few months ago when he bought some flowers for his aunt, only to realise that she was allergic to the exact same flowers. She was okay eventually but Arthur had always thought that she didn't like him. Even before. He was almost at school now, when he heard a loud thunder and lightning lit up the sky. He hurriedly walked into the old school building. In the hallways, next to the doors, there were coat hooks on the walls. The blond took off his jacket and hung it on one of the hooks, his umbrella next to it. It would be pointless to let it dry because it would get wet again anyway.

He stepped into the classroom where he had maths and sat in his usual seat next to the window. Everyone was already there, except for the teacher. Arthur's classmates spoke to each other as always. But the noise of rain and thunder blended in with their voices. The bell rang. Five minutes later, when another lightning lit up the sky, the door opened and the teacher stepped into the room. Mrs. Smith had an expression on her face that Arthur knew from himself. He almost instantly saw the conflict in her brown eyes. Her hands were trembling. She prepared herself for something she didn't want to do, but had no other choice.

" There is something I am obliged to tell you." She started to say. Her eyes were fixated on the floor before her feet. Arthur could see his classmates lean forward on their seats so they could hear better." The police has been called after Mr. Moore, our Janitor, has found a corpse at the entrance to the cafeteria when he went to unlock the doors." The people started to whisper and murmur with each other. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. It couldn't be. Arthur's fingers cramped around the edges of his table. He knew it. But why so fast? _He_ had told him it would at least take him one week. Arthur was relieved. Of course he was. But _he_ had lied to him. That made him angry.

"Do they know who it is?" Antonio asked the teacher. Mrs. Smith looked like she was prepared for the question, but had hoped not to be asked about it. She sighed. Suddenly there was a loud thunder and one of the girls flinched.

"You know the person. It is Sadik Adnan, one of the seniors." She said. Every single one of Arthur's classmates looked horrified. Sadik had been popular, always relaxed and the best friend and archrival of Heracles Karpusi who was also a senior. Arthur himself hadn't really known Sadik, and generally he was an introvert who liked to be alone. The only two people in the world who could be considered his friends, even it it would be somewhat exaggerated, were Francis Bonnefoy and Alfred F. Jones. Which didn't mean that he liked them. Both of them were unbearable most of the time.

One was arrogant and narcissistic, the other was childish and had an obsession with superheroes. Arthur tried his hardest to keep them away from him. But no matter how often he spent recess hiding on the rooftop of the school building or behind the cafeteria or the gymnasium, it was as if he had some kind of antenna on top of his head because they always found him.

But still, they were nice to him. He knew, he couldn't ask for more. Today, there would be no classes. Instead they were to speak with the two police officers who had come to their school. One after the other, the students had to go to the principals office where they would have to answer some questions before they were allowed to go home. The seniors were first. Maybe the police deemed it likely that it was an older student if it was one of the students at all. Or maybe it was because Sadik had been a senior himself. It would take a while until it was time for the junior year students to be questioned. Quietly he sat there and stared out the window that overlooked the whole school yard. He tried not to listen to his classmates murmuring, but there and again he heard names being whispered. It was quite amusing, to hear how they all accused each other of murdering the senior student.

But still, it was a pity that they destroyed the mood that had been created by the gloomy weather outside. Meanwhile the seemingly endless rain had formed a few tiny puddles along the school yard. The lawn a bit further from the building was soaked and muddy. Dozens of leafs that had lost their bright colours weeks ago stuck to the concrete that provided a steady ground and a long sidewalk around the building that led to the parking lot for cars and buses.

An annoying voice pushed its way into Arthur's consciousness and he wasn't able to ignore it.

" Maybe it was Toris. Or Kiku. It's always the quiet ones." Arthur heard them whisper. They laughed. It was too loud.

The bell rang, but nobody noticed. The students had to stay in their classrooms. Some of them used the time to do their homework or to learn. Some even read books they had brought with them to school. Their cell phones were taken from them for the time being. The teachers tried to stop their students from spreading the information on facebook or other social networks. It would happen eventually, but the police wanted to investigate as much as possible before. Toris slumped into his chair. He had heard them. Kiku wasn't in Arthur's maths class. The blond took a book out of his backpack and began to read. It was old and he had read it four times already, but it didn't become boring. He had brought it with him everyday for the past few days, so he had something to do in recess. His teacher excused herself for a short while.

" I like totally think it was Natalya. You know her, she's crazy." Feliks said, probably to distract the others from Toris. Feliks and Toris were best friends, as far as he knew. Arthur shook his head. _It is weird_ , he thought, _how fast they can make a game out of a tragedy_. At first they had all seemed shocked and sad, but now they looked like they found it amusing, as if it wasn't real, like a Theatrical play. And he thought _how easy it is, to distance yourself so much from your reality_. He also thought about Francis and Alfred. Francis was a senior. He must have spoken to the police already and be home right now. _Lucky bastard_. Alfred was in junior year, like Arthur, but he had English in first block.

" It's our turn soon." Mrs. Smith said after she came back with a cup of coffee. " Prepare yourselves. Try to remember all the details. When you have last seen Sadik, if he was alone, who could have had a motive and all that. After the questioning is over, come back again so that I can cross out your names from my list. Those of you who do not live far away, can go back home. The rest can call their parents, take the bus or their own car. As always." She obviously tried to stay strong for her students but Arthur felt sorry for her. Not only her hands were trembling but also her voice. A teacher from another class stuck his head into the room.

" It's your turn." He said, nodded his head to Mrs. Smith and left again.

She sat at her desk and looked at a sheet of paper she held in her hand. She cleared her throat.

" Ludwig Beilschmidt." Said person stood up from his seat and left the room. It was very quiet now. Maybe Arthur's classmates had finally understood how serious the situation really was. Elizabeta who sat behind Arthur, quietly muttered.

" I wonder if Heracles is okay." If someone other then him had heard her, nobody said anything. They waited. After exactly seven minutes, Ludwig came back. He went to his seat, took his backpack and proceeded to leave again.

" Wait, Ludwig. Is Gilbert still here? Did he wait for you? He could drive you back home" The teacher asked him. Ludwig nodded his head and left. She crossed out his name on her list.

" The next person is Lukas Bondevik." Lukas left his seat with an annoyed expression on his face, but you could never be sure about him. He came back after ten minutes. One student after the other left and came back only to leave again, and soon the classroom was half empty. Arthur had to wait a while until it was his turn but he was glad that his surname didn't begin with a Z. The Zwingli siblings would not be pleased. He wanted to go home so bad, he couldn't wait anymore. When his name was called, he almost jumped up from his seat.

He stood at the door to the principals office and knocked two times.

" Come in." He heard a voice that sounded a little tired. He went into the office and sat on a chair that stood opposite to the desk of the principal, where two policemen had taken seat.

" So." The same policeman who had called him into the room, began to speak. " What can you tell us about the murder of Sadik Adnan?"

* * *

I have already published a few stories on other sites, but not a single one in English. Still, I wanted to try, so if you find any mistakes

feel free to correct me. It's not my native language, soooo... Yeah, other than that I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Secrets

Arthur was thinking hard. He had nothing to fear. All he had to do was tell the truth. But that was the problem. He knew they would never believe the truth. On one wall in the principals office directly above the door, there hung a clock that was ticking quietly. The sound made him nervous. He also knew that he had to say something. Saying nothing was no option here. The two policemen were staring at him. One of them, a huge blond who could just as well be a body-builder, was drumming on the tabletop with his fingers.

"Did you know the victim?" He asked. Arthur found it weird how they spoke about Sadik. As if he was only an object without a name.

"No. I didn't really know him. I don't have a lot in common with the other students so I'd rather be alone than to hang out with them." He answered. At least that was not a lie. That should give them a vague impression of him. Arthur didn't want them to dig into the matter of his situation at school more than necessary.

"When was the last time you saw him? And where?" The second man asked now. It was the one with the tired voice. He was probably in his mid-forties but Arthur wasn't sure. His black hair had already started to go grey and he had a tiny scar on his left temple.

"I think it was three days ago after school when I came out of the library to go home." Arthur said. He hoped they wouldn't be able to see through his lie.

"Was the victim alone?" Arthur tried to remember that day. After school three days ago, Sadik really had been alone. But four hours later on the same evening, there were two more people. Friends of Sadik. When they ganged up on Arthur. But that didn't matter.

"I only saw him when I came out of the library and walked down the hallway. There were the windows that overlooked the parking lot. He stood there alone by his car."

The huge blond policeman had started to write down some notes. His colleague asked the next question.

"Did the victim have a good relationship with his peers? Or did he fight with anyone?" _Yes_ , Arthur thought. But they didn't need to know. Instead he shrugged.

"Everyone liked him. I haven't heard of any fights." The older policeman sighed.

"Well. That's it. You can go now."

A huge wave of relief overcame Arthur and he hurriedly left the office. He went back to the classroom where he normally would've had maths and where his backpack was. When he walked into the room, his teacher called the next student on her list. He took his things and walked back into the hallway to put on his jacket. But his umbrella wasn't there anymore.

The truth was: Arthur knew Sadik's murderer. The circumstances of the matter were hard to explain. Arthur had walked to school so now he had to go home in the pouring rain. His jacket didn't have a hood. On the windows that were on the opposite wall of the classrooms, so many raindrops were running down, that you couldn't see anything at all. Arthur wondered if he would be able to keep his backpack with all of his books dry. On his way outside he ran into the janitor who had a broken light bulb in his hand. Those in the gymnasium broke all the time. The old man looked exhausted and absent minded. _It must be horrible to find a dead body_. Arthur couldn't imagine how he would react in this kind of situation. He went down the stairs when someone touched his shoulder.

"Arthur! Wait!" He heard Alfred say a little too loud who, by the looks of his, had been running after him. The American took his hand back and proceeded to walk alongside Arthur.

"My class is done with the questioning, I waited for you the whole time." Arthur stared at Alfred who was a few inches taller than him. The American had sunny blond hair and the bluest eyes Arthur had ever seen. Even with his glasses, his eyes where shining.

"What do you want?" Arthur asked annoyed and walked faster but the other hurried as well. Alfred passed him almost instantly and stood in his way.

"I can drive you home if you want." He suggested. Arthur wanted to say no. But he felt he had no other option than to take up the offer. He didn't want to arrive at home completely soaked. He didn't want to get the flu and most importantly he didn't want to get struck by lightning. As if mother nature had heard his thoughts, the thundering got louder. He swallowed his pride.

"Okay." Was all he said. They proceeded on their way when Alfred started grinning.

"What happened to your umbrella? Forgot at home?" He snickered quietly as he zipped up his own jacket and Arthur remembered the reason why he preferred to be alone.

"Of course not, you git! The stupid thing wasn't there anymore when I came back from the principals office. I guess someone took it by accident."

The two blonds ran through the rain to Alfred's old Jeep and when Arthur slumped into the passenger seat with his backpack lying on his lap, his hair was wet.

"Do you want me to switch on the air conditioning?" The American asked as he started the engine and Arthur nodded quietly. It really was cold in the car. After a few seconds it was much better and the Englishman leaned back in his seat. The radio was set on a station that played the weirdest mix of different genres.

Because the sun was completely hidden behind rain clouds, it now looked like late evening even if it was only noon. The rain came down on the windscreen like mad and the windscreen wipers worked as fast as they could on the old car. Arthur didn't have do give Alfred directions to his house because the other had been there before. The radio played an old rock song from the 90s and Alfred sang along softly. Arthur stopped himself from commenting. After only five minutes they arrived at the house that was empty because both of his parents were at work at this time of the day. Arthur hoped that Alfred wouldn't ask if he was allowed to come inside.

"Sorry, I have to go somewhere. Better be on my way then. Bye." The American said as Arthur got out of the car. He hadn't expected the other to excuse himself so quickly. But oh well. Instantly after he'd shut the passenger side door with his backpack in one hand, the other drove away. The dirty rain water on the street splashed to the sides as the car tires ran through a tiny puddle. But Arthur was in safe distance. He opened the fence that surrounded the tiny garden and walked to the door. The keys were under the doormat.

Inside the house everything was silent and dark. They had no pets and Arthur was an only child so he was alone for now. He went upstairs and into his room with its walls painted blue and red. He closed his door. On one wall stood a huge bookshelf, filled with classics and books about paranormal stuff, occultism and nature religions. But only one of those was important to him now. The thick piece of art had faded pages full of little tears and some were loose. This book was about

demon summoning. Arthur had found it some time ago on a garage sale and bought it more for his own amusement than for any real purpose. On the same evening he'd started to read it and soon grew obsessed. Two days later he was done with it. At the time he still didn't fully believe that it was real. But soon his opinion had changed after the first little ritual was successful. It was nothing complicated. He had managed to turn a candlelight blue. That was a beginner's ritual that was on one of the first sites of the book as an example. The difficult stuff for what you needed a lot of equipment was on the last pages.

Arthur had learned a lot and gotten better over the months that passed by. And bolder as well. His bookshelf had already been filled with books of such a kind even before. Of course he planned for it to remain a secret; he didn't want other people to think of him as a weirdo. His parents never went into his room because he kept it clean, so he didn't have to worry about them finding out. But as can be expected: someone found him in the public library one day, with a book written by no other than Aleister Crowley in his hand.

Gilbert Beilschmidt who, in turn, carried a cookbook with Prussian recipes with him, knew the name that stood on the book cover and reacted like expected: he told his friends at school.

Gilbert was friends with Sadik, Antonio, Francis, Feliciano, and some other senior students. Antonio and Feliciano were in Arthur's year and didn't participate in the whole thing, the latter out of fear. Francis had his very own reasons for making the Englishman's life more difficult but it was neither cruel nor thoughtless. But then again, Sadik and Gilbert's other friends had fun making his life a living hell. So a few individuals who were nice to him didn't stick out of the lot.

And that was the reason why Arthur needed this one specific book now. He'd already used it a couple of days ago and had not expected to take it out of his shelf so soon again. The blond knew the special ritual by now and had everything prepared for it. He darkened his room and lit up a few candles in different colours. The time and the day for the ritual were not important. He arranged the candles on his floor so they would built a circle and in the middle he drew a pentagram with white chalk. He did everything exactly as it was explained in his book. Then he sat on top of the pentagram and in between the candles, cross-legged. He closed his eyes. He had to concentrate now. Only, his thoughts disturbed him of his calmness. They were about the policemen, the questions, Alfred and the thunderstorm that hadn't changed much since morning.

But he forced himself to concentrate once again, harder this time. Before his inner eye, it was pitch black. Quietly Arthur spoke a summoning mantra. He had to be patient because it would take its time. But then he heard a voice. The Englishman opened his eyes and looked around his room.

"Here I am." The voice said in an amused and young-sounding tone. Arthur saw the little person walking from one corner of his room to the bed and slumping down on it. This person looked exactly like a younger version of Arthur, but only with blue eyes instead of his green ones.

"Why did you summon me so soon again?" The being in form of child asked. Arthur stared at it. He wasn't so sure how he was supposed to behave around the being and if there were some specific rules he had to follow. He didn't want to make any mistakes just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"You told me it would take you one week." Arthur said bemused. The child only shrugged.

"I lied." It answered and looked bored now. The Englishman had to get a grip on himself.

"I thought you couldn't lie." He narrowed his eyes.

"There are things you humans just can't understand." It sighed. "I do what I want." For a moment, the child mirrored Arthur's facial expression before it started snickering.

You could almost find it cute if you didn't know what the child actually was. For Arthur it was creepy.

"And what will happen next?" He wanted to know. "Sadik was not the only one. There are at least five others. And I don't know if there are other people involved. It would attract attention if all of them suddenly died." It was hopeless, Arthur felt.

"Why do you worry so much? The police won't be able to solve the case. They have no evidence, no hints. After everything is over, you can finally live in peace. That's what you wanted." When the child spoke, it didn't sound how it looked like even one bit. Arthur clenched his hands to fists. He slightly changed his position on the floor so he knelt before the child. And he forced himself to remember everything Gilbert's friends had done to him. Anger ran through his body. The little boy saw and smiled at him.

"So? Who's the next person in line?" He asked and rocked his short legs up and down as he sat on the edge of Arthur's bed.

"Ivan Braginski." Was all the Englishman said. The child stood up from the bed and disappeared. Arthur heard him laugh in the back of his head. The candles flickered and Arthur blew them out. He cleaned the pentagram off his floor. In the house it was completely silent. No school meant no homework and so he had nothing to do. In four hours Arthur's mother would come back from her shift in the hospital and his father one hour after her. Arthur spend his time reading.

With a book and a cup of tea he sat on the couch in the living room.

When his mother came in through the door later that day, Arthur was already half through with the book. She had a bag with food in her hands that she proceeded to put away in the kitchen.

"Do you have something special you want to eat?" She asked him. Arthur stood up from the couch and took his empty cup to put it in the dishwasher.

"No. Just cook what you want." He said and left the kitchen. His book still lied on top of the sofa table and he picked it up. He went upstairs and back into his room. A good forty minutes later when he was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, he noticed the smell of minced meat and onions. Now, he really had nothing to do. His family didn't own a TV and he had no intention of going outside.

People like Alfred surely were busy all the time, with things like hobbies, sports and socialising. That felt like a whole other world to him. The thunderstorm outside had gotten a little better as the hours went by, but Arthur still found it silly how wrong the weather forecast had been.

When his father came back home a few minutes later and his mother called them both for dinner, the first thing his father said was:" Isn't it horrible what happened at the school?" And Arthur stiffened for a short moment. But of course they had informed all parents of what happened. They sat down at the dining table and began to fill their plates with food.

"How can someone do such a horrendous thing, to kill a student? How old was he again? 17? 18?" His mother muttered and slowly shook her head.

"Imagine what it would feel like, as a parent, when your own child dies so suddenly. And by murder." His father said and both of them looked so sad that Arthur had to look away.

"There sure are some monsters on this planet." His mother added and Arthur almost choked on his food.

"Arthur? Are you okay, boy?" His father asked. He realized painfully that all the attention was on him now. And he feared the next question.

"Did you know the boy?" Yes, there it was. But he could never tell them how well he knew Sadik.

"Not very much. I only saw him from time to time." They didn't need to know more than that. He was the only one who knew that the next corpse would be found soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: ghosts

After Ivan Braginski was found dead in the gymnasium, his body covered with stab wounds, the police stopped questioning the students and the school was closed for the next two weeks. Within the set time frame, they wanted to investigate the case with intensified care but without further risking the students. They told them of Ivan's death but not of the cause behind it. Only one day had passed since the first corpse was found and there hadn't been enough time to inform the students of the temporary closing, so when one arrived at school that morning, they were sent back home.

But it was still enough time for word to spread that Natalya Braginski who was Ivan's little sister, had had a nervous breakdown and was now in a psychiatric hospital. Today it was only raining lightly. Just as Arthur was about to go home, Alfred came running to him.

"Do you know how he died?" He asked and didn't give Arthur enough time to say 'No' and 'I don't want to know'.

"Someone stabbed him with a knife repeatedly all over his body. It must've been pretty gory. They have to repaint the walls now because the blood was everywhere Kiku said. He heard Mr. Roma speaking to one of the policemen." Alfred told him all of this so quickly that it took him a few seconds to process the information. How he wanted the seniors to die he hadn't told the demon. But he felt not even one bit of remorse for his actions. They got what they deserved.

"I mean Ivan really was a complete asshole. But still... that was a bit too much." The American said as he started walking next to Arthur who found it a bit irritating.

"What are you doing, Alfred?" He asked and knit his bushy eyebrows ( passed on from his father). The question seemed to make the American uncomfortable. He placed one hand behind his neck and looked like he was concentrating very hard.

"You see, because we seem to have lots of free time now and my parents are at work and yours too, I'm sure, I was thinking if we could, you know, maybe do something together." He suggested. Arthur had to admit, it sounded like a good idea. And he surely would've found no other thing to busy himself with while his parents were at work, than to spend his time reading.

It felt quite strange to him but he found himself agreeing to Alfred's suggestion.

"So what shall we do? Go and grab something to eat? Or should we go to the park and play soccer or something?" The American asked. He had left his car on the parking lot of the school.

"I thing you mean football." Arthur couldn't stop himself from correcting Alfred who rolled his eyes at The Englishman.

"Whatever." The two were walking on the pavement of a street that led to the park while Alfred was walking a little bit faster than the other.

"I wonder what one can do while the children are normally at school. Somehow I feel like I'm doing something illegal. Like someone will ask me why I'm not at school." Arthur muttered and Alfred nodded agreeing.

"And I wonder if they're showing any good movies." Alfred added.

"At eight fifteen in the morning? If there were any, I'm sure you wouldn't want to watch them." The Englishman snorted. Suddenly Alfred stopped walking and abruptly turned around so he stood before Arthur now.

"What?" The Englishman was startled at the sudden movement.

"I just remembered something!" Alfred practically shouted before he noticed his own volume. "They're showing a horror movie tonight. I wanted to watch it for a long time now."

Arthur knew the next question before he heard it.

"No." He said at the same time when Alfred asked:"Want to go watch it with me tonight?" He didn't seem to have heard Arthur and so the green eyed blond tried again.

"No, thank you. I'm not a big fan of horror films." In truth he liked them very much, especially when they were about paranormal stuff. He just didn't want to watch a film with Alfred, who would probably babble all the time.

"Come on. Pleeease. I read somewhere that it's totally awesome. You have to watch it." The American tried again and his blue eyes were sparkling. Arthur couldn't bear to look at him any longer than that, it was just too cute. But he would never tell the other.

"What is it about?" He asked with a sigh and Alfred beamed at him.

"Ghosts. Ain't that cool?" Arthur chose not to comment on his wording. Actually he was starting to find the film interesting.

"All right." He finally said and Alfred grinned. The two were now walking through the park that was surrounded by a high metal fence on three sites and they soon found an old football that was lying there under a bench all alone and dirty. Alfred was still talking about the movie.

"Imagine if you had some ghost in your house who wants to harm you and your family. How can you possibly protect yourself from an enemy you can't see or touch? Wouldn't that be impossible?"

Arthur picked up the football, ignoring the dirt on it, and put it on the ground directly before his feet. In the park there stood two goals for playing football and there was also a little playground that was empty while its visitors were in school or in kindergarten. A few pigeons gathered by the bench where the football had lain and picked whatever they found interesting. The boys started playing and time passed. They also spoke about random things like the trip to Spain their Spanish class would be taking in a couple months or if hamburgers were appropriate food for breakfast. In the course of the conversation, the topics they spoke about slightly changed. And soon Arthur found himself discussing with Alfred if the boy should ask Michelle (one of the girls in their Spanish class who was hot as hell if you asked Alfred, 'but not as hot as Ivan's older sister') out on a date. This was a little awkward for the Englishman for he had never been on a date before and quite frankly speaking, he was gay. Nobody knew and he planned for it to remain this way. He still tried to sound like he had experience, at least somewhat.

"Michelle is a nice girl, you should do it." He said. Alfred smiled and stopped running towards the ball that had been shot back and forth between them. Arthur stopped as well.

"You know, you never told me what kinda girl's your type." Now this was definitely awkward. _Tall and strong with blond hair and blue eyes_ , Arthur thought. He was surprised at his own thoughts.

"I like girls with black hair who are shorter than me." He said instead. It was purely fictional. But it was alright because Alfred didn't notice.

"A girl who's even shorter than you? Dude, you'll have to look for a long time for someone like that." The American said laughing. Arthur narrowed his eyes at those words. But he was not actually offended.

Suddenly Alfred's stomach started growling.

"Urgh, I better go grab something to eat. Don't wanna starve to death." He looked at Arthur who nodded his head at the silent question and the two walked out of the park and to the next supermarket where they each bought a packaged sandwich and something to drink. Alfred had a coke and Arthur bought a tiny bottle of flavoured water for himself. Without saying anything further, it was clear that the two would spend some more time together. They ate their sandwiches and Alfred emptied his bottle of coke almost without stopping while Arthur took a few sips of his water then and again. They walked back to school so that they could take Alfred's car and drive to his house where they spent a few hours playing video games and chatting. But eventually Alfred had to bring Arthur back home. The two blonds stood on the driveway, next to the fence that surrounded the garden of Arthur's house.

"I'll come back here tonight to pick you up for the movie. Don't forget about it." The American said and smiled as he went back to his car.

"Yes. Goodbye, Alfred." Arthur opened the fence and walked to the front door when he heard the engine of Alfred's car humming. He didn't know how he should feel about all of this.

It didn't take long for Arthur's parents to come home but he didn't feel like interacting with them today. They would probably be speaking about the incident at school for the next few weeks and he didn't want to hear about it. So he went straight back to his room. The blond decided to let the demon be for the time being and settled on his bed with a book about fairies in hand. _Fascinating little creatures_. While he was reading, he faintly heard the sound of his parents talking in the living room. Like expected, it was about the incident. Arthur wondered if the whole student body would start to panic if a few more died. And wouldn't that be amusing to look at?

It was quarter to four in the afternoon and when Arthur looked out the window he saw the approaching thunderstorm the weather forecast had foreseen for the next couple of days. The pouring rain reminded him of something. He put his book aside and went to the bathroom to take a shower. As he was standing there under the water of the shower head, he thought back to yesterday and remembered what he'd said to Alfred when the boy asked what had happened to his umbrella.

"What if some arsehole has stolen it?" He quietly muttered to himself and his mood got sour. Surely, every single one of Gilbert's friends or the boy himself could've done it. It wouldn't be the first time they had done some petty thing to have a good laugh. Still, it was weird when he thought about it. Their bullying had gotten beyond the childish teasing a long time ago. And now, after seemingly endless hours he had spent playing hide and seek with them against his will because he didn't want to have his head flushed down the toilet, he wondered how it was possible that no one had ever found out about him being bullied. Or someone knew but didn't want to get involved in the situation.

Yes, he didn't only spent recess hiding from Francis and Alfred , but from all the seniors as well. What a messed up life. _What if Alfred knows? No, he's too oblivious to ever notice_.

Arthur had this type of inner monologue in his head whenever he found enough time to really think, the type where he would constantly be playing question and answer to his worries of how the people he knew would react if they were to find about about his secrets. He didn't want to be known all throughout school as the victim. His secret obsession with books about occultism was not a secret anymore and he got bullied for it. One could only imagine what they would do to him if they were to find out about him being gay. He shuddered violently. Better not think about it. What would Alfred say? He shook his head at the thought.

After a good thirty minutes, the water jet was turned off and the Englishman took a towel from the cabinet that stood next to the sink. He put on fresh clothes and went back to his room where he proceeded to read his book until it was time for dinner.

"Mum, you remember Alfred, don't you?" He asked when they sat down to eat. His mother nodded smiling and picked up her fork.

"Yes. Alfred was the nice boy who always brought you your homework when you were sick." She answered and Arthur nodded his head slowly, clearly uncomfortable. His father quietly snorted, reminded of that one time when Alfred had come to them for the first time and, when told that Arthur's father was a Scotsman, asked if he owned any skirts.

"Yes, that was him. He asked me if I could go and watch a film with him tonight. I said yes." Arthur told his mother. He was old enough and his parents knew they had no right to forbid him of something as petty as going out late in the evening or even at night. They knew their son. He was mature enough not to do something he would regret when he was older.

A couple of hours later Alfred came to pick him up in his Jeep and together they drove to the cinema that was in the middle of the town.

The town per se wasn't exactly huge but its citizens had everything they could ever possibly need within walking distance, and if one had needs that were hard to fulfill, the next bigger city wasn't that far away.

When they took their seats in the cinema hall excited about the movie, Alfred had a huge bag of popcorn in one hand and a soda in the other. Arthur had brought some nachos for himself. When the movie was half over Alfred's bag was empty and the Englishman was sure the other would start complaining any second now, but surprisingly the American stayed quiet until the end.

The movie really was 'totally awesome' like Alfred had said.

Tired but happy they exited the cinema and sat in the car. There was the faint sound of thunder in the distance but where they were, it was only raining lightly.

Alfred drove Arthur back home and the Englishman almost instantly slumped down on his bed when he came into his room.

That night the demon visited him in his dreams. At first Arthur hadn't understood why the child stood there so suddenly, directly before him in a puddle of blood that looked black in the dark. Arthur himself stood at the shore of an ocean. A few ravens flew across the sky. They were hard to see because it was the middle of the night and Arthur wondered, _why aren't there any storks?_ Ravens didn't belong to the beaches and oceans and as he thought this, the ground beneath his feet started changing and now the sand was concrete. Arthur looked up and he saw the top of a huge Ferris wheel further in the distance. The child before him was not a child anymore, but a black German Sheppard with its eyes glowing in red and yellow. Truly, it was the two colour at the same time and Arthur thought again, _if I was awake now it would be pretty weird because in reality one simply cannot have two eye colours at the same time in both eyes. This is a dream, it's not reality._

And the dog started talking to him like a human. It could've been silly but it was not. It was frightening.

"Hello Arthur. I assume you are pleased with my work." The dog said and it even moved its jaw like a human.

"Yes. I am. Thank you very much." Was all he was able to get out.

"Look at this." The dog changed forms and what now stood before Arthur made his blood freeze in his veins. It was a horrendous morph of Sadik and Ivan. Like someone had put pictures of the two into a computer program that was supposed to do exactly this with them: morph them together. It didn't fit one bit and Arthur was able to see every wound on their bodies. Or body. Two corpses melt together. There were the dozens of stab wounds that represented Ivan, and Sadik's neck was black and blue all around with his eyes removed.

Arthur almost cried out in shock. Then the dreadful thing changed forms and Arthur was surprised once again, when he saw an extremely tiny human with butterfly wings flying towards him. It was a fairy. The Englishman was in a forest now, a huge and dense forest with a clearing full of pretty flowers in front of him. The fairy sat on top of his shoulder and weighed practically nothing.

"As you probably already noticed, dear Arthur, this is only a dream. But I am not. I am real and you can touch me. You can hear me and you can see me. What I'm about to tell you know is your reality. You have no other option than to accept it. That makes it so much easier, believe me." Arthur nodded his head. He felt imprisoned in his stance and the flowers before him were sparkling in all colours. He could see this even in the complete darkness that surrounded him. He felt tired. He wanted to just lie down on the field of flowers and never wake up again. But he stood. Frozen.

"Firstly, I only killed the Turkish boy out of goodwill. Because I like you. But sadly I am not a human being. I am still a being, though not a good one. I am not an angel, I cannot be good. That is not in my nature. Secondly, because I was nice enough to kill the Russian for you I want you to return the favour. There is this one girl at your school. I don't like her. She annoys me to no end. You don't have to kill her, I know you could never do something like that. Hurt her **somehow**. No matter how. But I want her to cry. I do **not** want to see her happy and grinning like an idiot any longer." When Arthur turned his head so he was able to properly look at the tiny fairy, its eyes were pitch black without even a hint of white in them.

"You will do it Arthur, won't you? Hm? **Won't you**?" Its voice now sounded mocking and the blond wondered how he could ever find fairies cute. This one was awful. But he knew he had no chance of escaping the matter.

"What's her name?" He asked and the thing started grinning from ear to ear. Its little teeth were razor-sharp.

"Michelle." Suddenly Arthur felt like he was underwater. He couldn't breathe and he was cold. And then everything was black. He woke up, though it was slowly, that he opened his eyes.

His awakening as such, wasn't abruptly. It was a conscious blending from his dream to reality. He lay there in his bed and looked at his alarm. Only a few minutes after three in the morning. It was completely dark in his room and he felt the realisation of the things the 'demon' had said, slowly creeping into his mind. His fingers were shaking and he had to keep in a whimper that was about to come out of his mouth. Arthur felt like a complete fool for the first time in his life. He didn't want to do it. But he was afraid. Afraid of a little child, of a dog, of a fairy. He was afraid of the _demon_. Time passed while he lay there without ever moving and he felt dreadful. For the first time ever he thought about suicide.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: time

The night before had passed rather slowly because Arthur wasn't able to fall asleep again. And it was obvious, as the bags under his eyes that he now displayed, were slightly red looking and puffy. And he felt like a zombie that morning when he sat down at the dining table, a little too early. His dreams of the demon had robbed him of every bit of energy he'd previously had. It was still raining outside and Arthur wondered if it would do any harm to the flowers his mother had laid out in little flowerbeds and in clay vases all over the garden. Probably not. If anything, it would make them even prettier.

He sat there, eating his breakfast and waiting for his parents to wake up, just because he had nothing else to do. It wasn't completely dark anymore, but not quite bright yet. He hadn't set up a time or day to meet again with Alfred the evening before, so he didn't know if he would just have to spend his unwanted holidays slowly wasting away, or if he would actually be doing something again with the American. Some time later, his parents finally woke up and joined him at the dining table. Even though he'd already finished eating, he stayed there.

"What happened to your shoes, Arthur?" His mother asked him and he didn't know how to answer the question.

"I wanted to ask you about it yesterday, but then you were in your room the whole time, and by dinner, I'd already forgotten all about it." She added. Arthur knew, his shoes were not old enough to be this dirty, especially when he always avoided walking through puddles or mud, whenever he could. And they definitely were not old enough to have so many holes in them. And this must have been the reason for her concern, for his shoes had never any holes, no matter how old they might have been. He took a sip of his tea that was the only thing he hadn't finished yet and that was now cold and somehow tasteless.

"When I was walking home from school a few days ago, I took a different route out of boredom. There was an empty field I went through and I didn't notice there were bushes with thorns until I was in the middle of them. When I tried to get out, they were only stinging harder." He tried to explain, even if was completely made up. His mother slowly nodded her head.

"Be more careful the next time." Was all she said and that was it. No more questions. He was relieved.

His father had to leave for work after his breakfast and his mother would have to go to her shift in the hospital in the afternoon.

Two hours later, Arthur found himself lying on his bed, intensely thinking about what the demon had said in his dreams. He couldn't forget, even if he was awake now, and logical thinking had taken over his mind. The 'thing' had no hesitation to kill someone. Even if it were to be himself, he was sure, it would just be standing there before him, openly laughing at his agony that he would feel while dying. The demon wanted to hurt, and hurt it would. Arthur thought about Michelle. Surely, the girl Alfred liked was by far not the only one with that name, but Arthur just had this weird feeling in the back of his head that it was her. If he were to hurt her and Alfred would see it, the American wouldn't hesitate to protect her, and if it meant to hurt Arthur in turn. He had this hero complex.

The blond owned a cell phone and, while he sometimes wondered why he even had one, he had at least a few numbers saved in his contacts. But when he looked through it , there weren't any missed calls or messages, not even from Alfred who had his number.

As time went on, the rain got lighter, and soon stopped completely. Arthur forced himself to go out of bed and outside to enjoy the good weather, for it wouldn't be long until it was raining again. As he was going down the stairs, his mother appeared at the entrance to the kitchen.

"I'm going outside for a bit." Arthur said and his mother held up her hand, trying to stop him.

"Wait. I'll give you some money so you can go buy a pair of new shoes." He wanted to protest but she had already disappeared in the hallway where her coat with her purse hung on the wall. When she came back again, she had a few twenty dollar notes in her hand. He sighed and took the money that he stuck into his jacket pocket.

"Goodbye." His mother said and he went on his way.

As he was walking there on the pavement that led him further into the town, he wondered if it would be possible to postpone the thing he had to do to Michelle for a few days, or better, weeks. Whatever it was that he had to do. But then again, the demon had given him the freedom to decide. Arthur didn't really have an opinion of the girl. He didn't hate her and he certainly would never voluntarily do something to hurt her. But he had no other option. The least he could to would be to keep postponing the inevitable. The Englishman was on his way to one of the shoe shops in town where he always bought his shoes. He quickly found a pair that he liked and bought, but the shoes weren't of good enough quality that would make them worth destroying to Gilbert's friends. Arthur gave the clerk, who was alone at the shop right now, the money, and with his new possessions in a white and green bag, he walked through the streets. He had no specific destination in mind and was just taking any direction that looked interesting. He passed by a little shop that sold overpriced coffee beans when he suddenly saw a tiny human-looking being that had wings, shining brightly in the sun.

He knew the thing from his dreams the night before and he instantly froze in his steps. The little creature was flying away from him and he heard a soft laughter, as if there was someone directly next to his ear, but there was no one, and the fairy didn't make any sound. It just flew with its little wings quickly fluttering, always a few steps ahead of him, no matter how fast he walked towards it.

He followed the being to a small café where it disappeared again, and Arthur felt like an idiot. He stood there, alone, and realized he'd never been on this street before. But then he saw someone familiar in his field of vision. It was the girl Alfred liked, the girl the demon wanted to see suffering. Michelle. She was easy to recognise with her two pigtails and her light brown skin tone. She sat on a stool at a table that was only big enough for one person and drank something out of a cup while a small plate with cake was lying before her. And then, Arthur understood what the fairy wanted from him. But no, he would **not** do it. Forcefully, he turned away from the sight and tried to find his way back to the streets he knew. The Englishman turned to the left at the end of one building and that's when he bumped into someone. He almost fell down, but the person grabbed his arm and helped him to stand up properly again.

"Arthur?" The Englishman winced when he heard Alfred's voice. The American looked at him with concern in his blue eyes. "What are you doing here?" Arthur simply showed him his bag with the logo of the shoe shop printed on it, and the other laughed softly.

"Yeah, your shoes were not in the best condition anymore, hm?" Sometimes, he seemed to take Arthur for a fool, even if he was one himself.

"I just saw Michelle sitting in the café. The one that's behind the old record shop. Do you know where it is?" Arthur asked, and he saw the excitement sparkling in the other's eyes.

"Yes, I know where that is. Do you think I should go to her?"

"Why not? It's the perfect timing to ask her out."

At those words, Alfred seemed to gain self-confidence and the American hurriedly walked along the pavement in the direction Arthur had just explained to him.

"Bye, Artie! And thank you!" He shouted and quickened his pace. Arthur shook his head at the sight. At least the two would be happy for now. Certainly, the demon wouldn't give up so easily and the Englishman braced himself for another visit from the being. He was not looking forward to falling asleep tonight. But fortunately he still had a whole day until then.

Later that day, Arthur got a text message on his phone. It was from Alfred.

 _'I went to the café and sat beside her, had to take a stool from a table nearby. Then we talked for a while and I asked her if we could go on a date together someday, and she said yes. I'm so happy, Artie. We have a date on Sunday evening. Wish me good luck'_

He had to smile when he read it and he felt genuinely happy for the American. But Arthur himself was not so happy, for he felt more and more nervous as the hours passed. When sleep finally crept over him, his last conscious thought was : _that's it._

But nothing actually happened. When he woke up the next morning, on a Saturday, he couldn't even remember what he'd dreamed the night before. The edginess slowly ebbed away, and he could breath deeply again. He was not hungry that morning and stayed in his bed for a long time. But he didn't know for how long exactly because he'd been too lazy to take a look at his alarm clock. When he looked out his bedroom window he saw that the sun was once again covered by clouds, only today, it wasn't raining. Out of boredom he looked through his phone, searching for new messages, and there were a few from Alfred

 _'Some seniors tried to beat up Toris. They thought he was the one who murdered Sadik and Ivan. That's so sick! Toris is so nice. Anyway, Feliks stopped them and has actually bitten Gilbert when he was about to punch him in the face. XD Kiku told me. You know him, he knows people who know stuff.'_

Arthur grew nervous once again, when he read those lines. He quickly replied.

 _'Did they do something to Kiku, too? I heard someone saying that it's always the quiet ones who do those kinds of things. Now I'm worried.'_

Alfred had sent him the message last night, and right now he was surely still asleep. It would take a while for him to reply. Arthur was really feeling worried, but more for himself than anything else. If Gilbert and his friends were now taking matters into their own hands, he was certain, they would suspect him as well, sooner or later. _It just can't_ _ **not**_ _happen_ , he thought. Someone was bound to remember his interest in occultism and the likes, and start to make everything worse that was already messed up as it was. _I'm fucked._

Two hours later, Alfred finally replied to his text message.

 _'No worries there. Kiku's tough. And Heracles likes him, he defended him. I have to go now, my cousin Matthew's visiting soon and we gonna go watch a ice hockey game. Bye :)'_

At least Kiku was lucky. He had someone taking his side and defending him. Arthur had no such thing. He was practically all alone.

The whole day dragged on as if in slow motion, and all Arthur could remember of his dreams when he woke up on Sunday morning, was a black German Sheppard chasing him through an abandoned amusement park. It had been dreadful but short-lived. The temperature today was quite cold and he wondered where Alfred had planned on taking his date.

"Hopefully somewhere warm." Arthur muttered to himself. He yawned and stretched before he went to the bathroom where he took a long shower. The blond spent the day at the library in town, looking for books of different genres and reading a bit before he then decided if he should borrow them or not. He couldn't stop himself from also looking at the section with books about occultism. He quickly found a book that was about a group of demons that could change forms. With this book in hand, the others he had already put away because of lack of interest, he took a seat at one of the tables that stood at the window site of the huge hall.

Time quickly passed while reading and he found the book interesting, but it was just not what he'd been looking for. Almost. But it missed the questions he had in mind that were about the demon. When it was time for sunset, the library closed for that day and Arthur went back home where his mother was already preparing dinner.

"Have you had fun, Arthur?" She asked him and he nodded. From the kitchen, she couldn't see that he hadn't borrowed any books, so his hands were empty now. Until it was time for dinner, he was lying on his bed, pondering. _Alfred will be having his date soon_. And suddenly, he felt all alone. Not just now, but all alone in this world.

"Arthur! Dinner is ready!" He heard his mother shouting.

Later that evening he got a text from Alfred again.

 _'Michelle is so cute, I really like her. We went to the zoo and I took a picture of her and the penguins. I asked her if she wants to be my girlfriend and guess what she said? She said yes.:D We're a couple now.'_

Arthur was happy for Alfred, he really was. But when school opened again and he was shoved against the wall behind the cafeteria first thing in the morning, he regretted having rejected Alfred's countless tries at befriending him so often. He wished he had someone to defend him now.

"It was you, am I right?" Arthur heard the obnoxious voice of Gilbert Beilschmidt who just stood there with his hands in his pants-pockets, while two jock friends of his held Arthur firmly pressed against the brick wall.

"What are you talking about, you wanker?" He asked annoyed before he realized what he had just said. The two seniors pushed him once again and his head collided with the building. It hurt a lot, and he gritted his teeth.

"Don't play stupid. We all know about your little hobby. Do you do voodoo as well? Or did you make a contract with some demon? The albino now sounded angry, but Arthur had already frozen in place. The other had hit the nail on the head.

"Those are only myths, one cannot enter into a contract with a demon when they don't even exist. I don't do voodoo, and I'm really sorry about your friends, but I have nothing to do with it." He hoped so much that the German (or Prussian as the other called himself) would be rational, at least after the tragedy that had befallen two of his friends. The two jocks at his side certainly didn't look like they had understood him. The bell rang. They had to let him go now and he quickly ran into the school building. On his way to his maths class, he saw Alfred and Michelle walking to their classes together and talking happily to each other. He took his usual seat by the window and waited for the teacher to arrive, like everyone else. But his pulse was racing. He wanted to get rid of them so badly, once and for all. Ludwig who sat two seats to his right, was more stern-looking than ever before. And generally, every single one of his classmates looked like a mix of sad, anxious and angry. They were afraid, all of them. But nobody had died while the school was closed and Arthur knew this even before the teacher arrived and informed them of what the police had found out. Not one thing. He had to hide during recess like usual but today, he felt even more on edge, and it bugged him that Alfred flirted so openly with Michelle, now that they were officially a couple. He was wearing his new shoes today. If they were to destroy them too, his mother would find out that something was wrong.

"The mood is so depressing." He winced when he heard a voice speaking. But then he remembered the person.

"Francis."

"Arthur." The Englishman knit his brows. The Frenchman sat next to him without asking and sighed like the drama queen that he was.

"It's terrible what happened. But now Gilbert's behaving like some wannabe Sherlock Holmes. I would laugh at him if it weren't so sad. He said he wants to find the murderer on his own because the police is about to make this a cold case." At those words Arthur actually felt a bit of sympathy for the albino. But then he remembered what had happened only a few hours before and he almost wanted to punch himself for his empathy.

"He also said he thinks that I'm the murderer." Arthur added with his voice dripping with sarcasm. Francis snorted.

"You really are a weird fellow, but I know you would never do something like killing a person." They spent the rest of recess in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: third victim

When the bell rang again, they went back to their next classes. Francis had to go to another part of the building where the seniors had their classrooms. They didn't say a word to each other and parted. Arthur had P.E next. It was nothing out of the ordinary. The people who he had P.E with weren't mean to him at all, but neither were they particularly nice to him. It was bearable.

The two hours passed quickly, even when they had to play basketball outside on the field. And his next block was Art. Arthur liked the class because he was good at it, and it seemed to always pass more quickly than all the other classes. Here he was in his element. The blond sat on his seat at the back of the room and was busy sculpting a unicorn in clay. The material felt smooth in his hands, and when he looked at the things his classmates were building, he couldn't help but feel proud of his work. It was looking better more and more, with each time he ran over the surface with a dampened sponge. The teacher had taken a seat at her desk and looked over the classroom, and when she caught a glimpse of Arthur's unicorn sculpture, she nodded her head, acknowledging his work. She liked it, that much was obvious. And soon, school was over for today.

"You can leave your sculptures at your desks, but don't forget do carve your initials into the bottom. I will take them to an empty classroom so they can dry before I'll bake them. Good work, everyone."

The students left, and Arthur hurried to get out of the school-building. He saw Gilbert for a short moment when he was walking through the entrance. The albino was standing at a wall, at a spot out of the teachers' field of vision, smoking a cigarette. He didn't seem to register the Englishman. Arthur walked straight back home. He hadn't planned to do anything else, except for doing his homework at home like the good student he was. Alfred had already left, as his missing car on the parking lot showed. It was sunny today, but not warm enough to be only wearing T-shirts or skirts. Some of the girls didn't seem to mind the cold. On his way home, a couple of crows were fighting over a dead mouse that lay on the street where he was walking down to get to an intersection. He turned to the right and passed by the flower shop that was now opened. Through the glass door, he was able to see the woman waving and smiling at him and he waved back. He then crossed the street and was home not much later. His parents were both at work again.

The blond found some left-over lasagne in the fridge that he put in the microwave. He ate his food and drank a cup of tea, while wondering why the demon hadn't shown up in his dreams for the past couple of days. He'd still been nervous every night when going to bed, afraid of having a nightmare again. But nothing. Arthur put his empty dishes into the dishwasher and went into his room where he did his homework. He had no intention to be summoning the demon again. But it seemed he couldn't get rid of the being as it had suddenly appeared again.

"My dear Arthur, why haven't you done what I so kindly asked of you?" It's normally mocking voice now sounded bemused. The pencil he'd held in his hand fell to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" He asked nervously. The being folded its arms and just took a seat on his bed.

"I can show up whenever I want. You know, I'm actually a little mad right now. I can't allow for this annoying girl to be happy." Arthur didn't understand this. What had Michelle got to do with the demon? The child-like being just stared at him, waiting.

"What has she ever done to you?" He asked. He was mad as well now.

"You won't understand. I don't have to tell you. Just do it. Hurt her. Make her cry." Its reasons were beyond Arthur.

"Just do it yourself then! I don't hate her and I don't want to hurt her!" Suddenly, the being jumped up from Arthur's bed and toward him. It took hold of his neck and started strangling him.

"Let go of me!" The Englishman screamed, while trying to pry its little hands loose. The child started cursing at him now, its eyes burning with anger, and looking dark. But then, they both heard the front door closing, and the demon disappeared.

"Arthur? Are you home?" He heard the voice of his mother calling out to him from downstairs.

"Yes! I'm doing my homework right now!" He shouted, sincerely hoping that she hadn't heard his little argument just now. But then he noticed something else. Her voice had sounded distressed.

"Is everything all right with you?" He asked while standing up and hurriedly walking toward his door. He peered down at his mother, from the spot where he was standing at the top of the stairs.

"Come down. I've got something to tell you. It's important." Arthur quickly walked downstairs, and his mother sat him down on the couch to talk.

"There was another victim. It was one of the senior students again." She began, looking everywhere but at him. Arthur felt his throat go dry.

"Who was it?"

His mother took a hold of her white blouse, wrinkling up the meticulously ironed clothing. She had quit smoking not that long ago, and was obviously extremely nervous right now.

"His name was David Davis. He was found in the basement of the school, hanged and gutted." Arthur felt perplexed at the mention of the name, for he hadn't told the demon to kill the boy. He'd been one of the jocks who'd had Arthur pressed against the wall on this very morning.

"Didn't anyone see him going down to the basement? What's with the janitor?" The blond asked his mother who just shook her head as an answer.

"He told the police that a few light bulbs at the gym had been destroyed, and that he was busy replacing them the whole time. When he went down to the basement, one door was locked. And that's exactly where he then found the dead boy." They both shuddered simultaneously at the mental image.

"Who told you this? I always thought the police kept such information confidential."

His mother nodded her head at this.

"Yes, normally they do, but a few parents kept pressuring the policemen into telling them. Because they were also curious about the janitor. The principal promised us he'd get cameras installed in every room of the school, but some parents are still too afraid to let their child go to school any longer."

"But the victims were only senior students. Everyone else has nothing to worry about." He tried to reassure his mother. She nodded her head once more, then sighed.

"But still. Three students have been murdered! Who wouldn't be afraid?" Arthur felt sorry for his mother.

"It's okay, mum. They will catch the murderer sooner or later."

She wiped her eyes at that. It startled the blond, for he hadn't noticed her crying. She must have held herself back. She then abruptly stood up and went to the kitchen where she busied herself preparing dinner. Together they waited for Arthur's father to come home, and then it was time for dinner. That evening, Arthur received another text message from Alfred.

 _'Have you already heard what's happened? Man, that's so scary!O.O'_

Arthur imagined Alfred wide-eyed on his phone as he texted him. He replied right back.

 _'Yes, my mother just told me. Apparently, they will install cameras everywhere. I hope they'll catch him soon.'_

 _'Who?'_ Arthur face-palmed at that.

 _'The one who murdered the three boys, you git!'_

 _'Oh, yeah, sorry.'_

The Englishman shook his head. The other boy was just so... so... Alfred. Then he remembered something.

 _'How's it going with Michelle?'_ It took a while for the American to reply.

 _'Fine. You know how relationships are, they aren't always smiles and blushes. But I'm really happy with her, I just hope she feels the same.'_

That worried Arthur a little. It wasn't even two weeks yet, that Alfred and Michelle had gotten together.

 _'Did something happen between the two of you? Feel free to tell me.'_

Arthur waited for fifteen minutes, but when there came no reply, he gave up and turned off his phone. Maybe the other just wasn't up to telling him.

In his dreams that night, he asked the demon( now in form of a unicorn, what a joke) about the last victim. The being now had a golden horn that lightened up the pitch-black night in the forest, where the both of them were standing in the familiar clearing full of colourful flowers. Fairies had gathered there, tending to them and watching the intruders.

"I haven't told you to kill him. Why have you done this?" Even if the boy, David, had been a pain in the arse, he was still just a follower, a mere sheep that'd been hanging on Gilbert's every word.

"Would you believe me if I were to tell you that I was not the one who killed him?" Arthur snorted at the ridiculous answer. The 'unicorn' before him had glowingly blue eyes that reminded him a little of Alfred. But still only a little.

"Of course you were the one! Who could've done it other than you?"

"Ever heard of copycats? Someone could've just imitated the killer to feel like some god, but without the fear of getting caught because the hints are leading to someone else already. Just a suggestion."

Actually, that sounded quite believable.

"Do you know who?" The unicorn-demon shook its head.

"I thought you demons knew everything." Arthur was shocked at his own tone that sounded so mocking, exactly like the demon spoke to him. He didn't like the thought of him resembling this 'thing'. And just then, he could swear he saw the glimmer of green it its eyes. But only for a second.

"Watch your mouth, boy. But no, I'm not god, I do not see everything." The being answered. And then it started smiling at him, its teeth razor-sharp again. "I can show you something if you want. Do you know how someone looks when gutted?" Before it had the chance to change forms, Arthur wildly shook his head.

"No, no! Really, I can imagine!" The being laughed loudly.

"Remember what I told you to do. The girl. Hurt her."

"No." Arthur said, the sternness in his voice piercingly sharp.

"Hurt her. Huuuuurt her. Hurt heeeeeeer." Its voice had adopted its old mocking tone again Arthur held his hands to his ears and closed his eyes. But he could still hear the voice, even as he felt himself slowly falling out of the dream-world. Hurt her! Hurt her, hurt her.

Hurtherhurtherhurtherhurtherhurtherhurtherhurtherhurtherhurt -

He finally woke up, with his heart beating rapidly. It was five in the morning.

Arthur knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, so he might as well just get out of bed. And that's what he did. He ate breakfast too early again, after a long shower that washed the rest of his sleepiness away. It was seven, when his father joined him in the kitchen, just as Arthur was studying for an upcoming test in Spanish class. His father didn't say a word to him, didn't even speak about the incident yesterday. They just sat there, his father eating his own breakfast and Arthur studying, until it was time for the blond to leave for school. As he was about to get out of the kitchen, he heard his father quietly muttering.

"Be careful." Arthur stood with his back to his dad and didn't look over his shoulder, so he wasn't able to see his father's worried expression.

"Have a nice day." He simply said and left.

When he arrived at school, the first thing he noticed was the unsurprisingly low number of students who had come. The rest was surely not allowed to go to school, not before the murderer hadn't been caught.

"Arthur!" He saw Alfred standing beside Michelle, in the hallway where their Spanish classroom was.

"School's so empty today. Kinda comfortable." The American said as if he was trying to lift the mood. It didn't help at all.

"Let's go." Michelle simply said and the three walked to their class.

Alfred took a seat next to his girlfriend and Arthur had to sit in the middle of the room because all the other seats were taken already. Class started, but nothing interesting or really new was being taught, and sometime later, the Englishman found himself catching a glimpse over his shoulder, of the couple that happily sat next to each other at the back of the room. The two were passing notes between them in secret. That was when a frightening thought settled down in his mind, at the back of his head, constantly replaying itself in different volumes, all the while annoying him. _Why does she have to be so happy? Why can't she just cry? Or better, why can't I just kill her?_ He forced his mind to shut up and be quiet. It didn't occur to him what his thoughts could actually mean, until a few hours later, when he saw them kissing behind the gym. They stood at the perfect angle to be seen from one of the windows in the school's library. Arthur just stood there, frozen in place and fuming. Or that's how he felt. _Why can't I just kill her?_ This one specific thought in particular made him puzzled. _I am thinking just like that 'thing'. Why is that? It told me it had nothing to do with the third murder. But I already know that it just lies whenever it wants. And even if it was saying the truth. Who could have done this? I don't think the other students or even the teachers are capable of doing something horrific like that. The only one I know who's sometimes imagining something like killing, is..._

Arthur snapped out of his thoughts. He himself was definitely not the murderer! It just wasn't possible. He would've known if that was the case. But it was not. He would at least have some memories of doing it if he had truly been the one.

"I am not a murderer." He quietly muttered, his lips barely moving. He saw Alfred and his girlfriend leaving in Alfred's car. He knew he was completely sane, he was conscious of his doings the whole day long, everyday. _If I were to kill someone I would have to be sleeping to not being able to notice my doings._ He had planned for the thought to lift his spirits, but instead it only made him afraid even more.

When he arrived at home, he'd already made up his mind to staying up the night. Just to see for himself. If there still would be another murder, he'd know for sure it wasn't him.

But when the students had to gather at the school-yard the next morning, and the name of victim number four, John Johnson, was announced, Arthur felt a familiar sense of dread creeping through his pale body. He stood there, his eyes red-rimmed and tired, and didn't know what had become of him. He was devastated. It didn't matter that he had spent the night before lying awake in bed, or if the demon had lied to him or not. The blond just had this feeling that it was not the demon who'd done this. He didn't see Francis anywhere, but just then he received a text message from the Frenchman.

 _'I just heard. My parents aren't allowing me to go to school any longer until the culprit is found. They are afraid I will be killed because all the victims are seniors.'_

Arthur didn't reply back. He wouldn't have known what to write him. _I think I am the killer?_ No, that just wouldn't do. The students were sent back home while the principal was busy commanding some people through the school-building who were to install the much needed cameras. The Englishman felt he needed to tell someone. He was afraid of himself now. What if the demon had manipulated him somehow? Or what if all the stress had finally gotten to him and made him sick in the head? On his way home, just as he was walking down a street, a car appeared beside him. Arthur had his gaze dropped the whole way, and didn't even look up to see who it was. But he didn't have to. He heard.

"Please get in the car. I'd like to talk to you."

Gilbert Beilschmidt said as he was slowly driving alongside Arthur.


End file.
